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Friday, December 13, 2013

Review: Fangirl

Synopsis:From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But
for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She
and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series
when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother
leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums,
writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for
every movie premiere.

Now
that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to
be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort
zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around
boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end
of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk
about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s
loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review:The
best word I can think of to describe Fangirl is: lovely. It really was a
sweet read. I loved the characters and I loved the representation of
fans and our fandoms. I can definitely see why this one has been so popular in the blogosphere. I think a lot of us book bloggers can relate to Cath because we've been there. At least I know I have.

Cath was a flawed but compulsively likeable
character. I could definitely relate to her social anxiety, although my
own is to a much lesser degree. I also loved her dedication to her love
of Simon Snow, Rowell's fictional world within this contemporary book.

And
Levi! He really deserves the title of "sweetheart" (if you've read it,
you'll understand). He's so sweet and friendly and kind and even though
he made a few mistakes, I'm glad he was able to redeem himself. Plus
he's a ranch kid studying range management which gains him a heap of
bonus points from this ranch kids with an unfinished degree in animal
health.

There were also a couple characters that I wanted to
climb into the book and shake. Wren, although she gets some redemption
(with a ton of help) and Laura who I still can't help but hate.

This
one is still a contemporary and I did cry in a couple spots (both in
combinations of sad and frustrated). PMS probably didn't help.

Fangirl is a fun read with something to offer fans of contemporary growing up stories and fans of fantasy.